The INC. Column.

Studios Divided In Reaction To School Massacre

As the rest of the nation struggles to make sense of the senseless, Hollywood is reacting to the horrific Colorado school shootings with the typical movieland reaction: schizophrenia.

On the one hand, there's shock rocker Marilyn Manson, whose nihilistic music purportedly provided inspiration for the young killers. Manson heeded Denver Mayor Wellington Webb's admonition to just stay away, canceling his April 30 concert in Denver. Too bad Charlton Heston and the National Rifle Association refused to demonstrate such sensitivity--and completely cancel their Denver convention.

Then there are the studio execs at MGM who decided to do the PC thing: recall "The Basketball Diaries" from video distribution. In the movie, Leonardo DiCaprio guns down a classroom while wearing a trench coat--yet another example of pop culture from which the two troubled Littleton teens purportedly drew succor.

The only problem: The video rights belong to Polygram until June 30. And the studio execs at Polygram say they're not pulling the flick.

Of course, it's way too easy to blame the latest spate of horror on entertainment. But the timing of the release of "Idle Hands" couldn't be worse. The movie, which opens Friday, is about a teen whose hand is possessed by an evil spirit, forcing the lad to embark on a murderous rampage in his high school.

Contest cop-out: Winning last year's local talent competition at Lilith Fair, the star-studded femme music fest, made a world of difference for singer-songwriter Rose Polenzani: For the first time, she found gigs that actually paid her rent.

"It opened a lot of doors for me," the 24-year-old Polenzani told Inc.

But this year, Chicago is the only Lilith tour city where local talent is not allowed to compete for a chance to open the show. Instead, that high-profile honor will go to the musician from who-knows-where who wins the Lilith Fair Internet talent search (www.lilithfair.com).

Chicago lost out because it is a major music market and the fair wanted to launch its Internet winner in a big music town, said Donna Westmoreland, director of marketing for Lilith Fair.

"If there weren't musicians in Chicago (upset about the change), there would be musicians in New York or L.A.," said Westmoreland, adding that Chicago also was targeted because it's scheduled toward the end of the tour. "That's just the reality of it."

Local musicians told Inc. they had another idea: Instead of pitting women musicians against each other, why not devote one stage at the festival to highlighting Chicago talent?

"The competition aspect I didn't like at all," said a singer-songwriter who competed in the contest last year. "To me, it's not a competition. It's not a beauty pageant. It's about women making their own music. And how do you judge that?"